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The Effects Of Music On The Brain And Body

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Various studies have shown different effects of music on the brain and body. According to the results of a study published in Neuroscience Letters, listening to a piece of music interpreted as happy or sad can make a person perceive a neutral face as either happy or sad. PET scans have been performed on a variety of people, some scans focusing on a person’s brain activity while listening to a piece of music, and some scans focusing on a person’s brain activity while playing a musical instrument. In these scans, different parts of the brain were activated when the person listened to music. These parts of the brain, when the person played a musical instrument, lit up like fireworks, according to a TED-Ed video by Anita Collins. Numerous studies have also shown the effects of listening to upbeat music while exercising. According to an article in New York Times, listening to music while exercising distracts a person’s body from concentrating on the pain in exercise; therefore, without the distraction of pain, a person will have a better workout session.
Studies have also been performed to show the effects of listening to heavy metal music, many with conflicting results. One study conducted by the University of Queensland showed that listening to an extreme genre (eg. heavy metal, screamo, punk) song calmed the angered listener. According to an article in The Telegraph, the results of a study performed on 1000 young people showed that those who were heavy metal fans were among

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